On April 12, 2021, a tiny cub was rescued in the Big South Fork National Recreation Area. On April 11th, he was spotted by a hiker who reported the cub to the rangers. Since he was up in a tree they decided to wait until the next day, in case his mama bear came back. When he was still there the next day, being very vocal, the NRRA biologist rescued him and transported him to ABR. Nicknamed Hops Bear, the cub had the usual exam at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, where he was weighed (2.64 pounds), given subcutaneous fluids, examined for injury, and PITT tagged. He was too stressed for blood work, so he was released to ABR for care and feeding. We’ll have more news of Hops and his first night in The Cub Nursery, but here is a photo of him when he first arrived.

Welcome to ABR, Hops! We are sad that you got separated from your mother, and unfortunately the opportunity for finding a foster mother has passed – bear families are leaving their dens and a new cub can’t be introduced into a family that is out of the den, so ABR curators will have to become the surrogate mom. We’ll do our best for you, little one!